Biggering
by NeverCutsTwice
Summary: An internal conflict between The Once-ler's past, ambitious self, and hew new, greedy persona. One-shot.


"Are you happy yet?"

The Once-ler spun around in his chair, startled by the sudden sound. He looked around his office warily, but saw no one. Just my imagination, he thought to himself. He had been working himself restlessly for weeks, perhaps he's started hallucinating. No, musn't think things like that, he thought. But could it have been that off? After all, the voice sounded a bit like...his own.

"Hey, didn't you hear me? I said, are you _happy yet?_"

The Once-ler jumped this time, spinning again to face the door. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight in front of his desk. He looked away, rubbed his eyes, looked back again. The figure in front of him didn't go away. It was himself, from only a few months ago. He stood there, looking down at the present Once-ler, in his plain, monochrome clothes and small, boring hat. His brow was furrowed with a look of distaste and concern. Present Once-ler couldn't imagine why his past self would give him such a scornful look. He's living his dreams, he's selling his Thneeds by the thousands, he's gotten the approval he's so desperately wanted from his family. So why the look?

"You know why."

Present Once-ler scrambled up from his chair, now more startled than ever.

"Whoa whoa whoa, okay, this is starting to freak me out-"

"It shouldn't. I'm you. What are you afraid of?"

"What are you talking about? _I'm_ me, you're also me, and that's not possible. You're not possible, you'd be confused too!"

Past Once-ler shook his head, still looking at himself from the present, this new Once-ler. The Once-ler obsessed with biggering.

"I'm not really, physically here, I'm still you. I'm just the you in your head. You conscience. Don't you remember me?"

The Once-ler narrowed his eyes at his past- No, "inner" self, not appreciating the somewhat bitter tone he took.

"Sure, I remember you. I remember how hard it was to be you, trying to sell my Thneed day after day, only to have everyone in town come around and hurl tomatoes at you. You don't see any townsfolk throwing fruit at me now, do you? You've been around, right? They're singing my praises! Literally! Just listen, you can almost here them from here, crying out, 'For he's a jolly-good Once-ler!'"

The inner Once-ler only lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a breath before responding.

"There's more to it than that. Sure, I wanted to be a success, but at what cost? Just take a step back and look around for a second, okay?"

The Once-ler's inner self paused and looked himself over. He was almost unrecognizable. He knew it was himself, but everything changed. His house, his chair, his desk, his hat, they were all bigger. Not to mention the company. Admittedly, Thneeds were a hit, he achieved what he set out to do. But now he couldn't get himself to stop.

"You made a promise, and thanks to your biggering, it's been broken. All of those animals in the forest rely on the Truffula Trees to survive, how do you-"

The Once-ler's present self slammed his fists on the desk.

"_My company_ relies on the Truffula Trees to survive! Where do you think Thneeds come from? That's right, the Truffula tufts. Cutting down the trees is the easiest way to harvest the tufts, you already know that. Without those, there's no more Thneeds, and when there's no more Thneeds, there's no more business. It's a principle of nature called survival of the fittest. _I_ am not going to let this company sink and become someone else's lunch."

"Is this about the company, or yourself?"

Present Once-ler stopped and stared in momentary shock, while his other self continued on.

"Think about it. All of this biggering is only triggering more biggering, and all of it is for your own selfish gain. The animals are losing their homes, the trees are dying, all so you can fill that empty space in your heart. So I'll ask you again... Are you happy yet?"

Who cares if a few trees are dying, The Once-ler thought to himself. This is all so _gratifying!_ He took a step away from his desk and towards his phantom self, but stopped when he heard a familiar, obnoxious voice at the window behind him.

"Hey beanpole. I heard you screamin' from outside, but there ain't nobody else here. Mind explainin' that?"

"That's none of your business," The Once-ler snarled, turning to put his full attention on the Lorax.

"Fine, have it your way," he continued. "But listen, we gotta talk."

The Once-ler knew exactly what the annoying hairball wanted to talk about. It was bad enough his "inner self" took up so much of his time, now the Lorax was preparing to give him the same speech. He frowned and looked over his shoulder, only to notice that the other Once-ler was gone. But of course it was. It was just in his head, after all.

The Lorax gave The Once-ler a solemn look. "We don't have all day, meathead, this is serious."

The Once-ler turned back to the Lorax and approached him slowly, clenching his fists at his sides. It didn't matter what the he said at this point. His other self couldn't stop him, and neither will he. The biggering will _never stop._


End file.
